Bruno seeks $2.4 million from state

Former state Sen. Joseph Bruno arrives at federal court on Monday, May 5, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. Jury selection is set to begin for the former Republican leader who's facing his second trial on federal fraud charges. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

ALBANY >> The former state Senate majority leader has asked the state to reimburse $2.4 million for legal costs in his acquittal on federal fraud charges.

Retired Sen. Joseph L. Bruno, R-Brunswick says he expects Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to obey the law and approve his request.

He told WGDJ-AM those were “reasonable legal expenses incurred while I was a public officer when I was charged.”

State law authorizes reimbursement of reasonable attorneys’ fees for officials accused and acquitted of criminal wrongdoing while acting within the scope of their duties.

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He has said previously that the two trials and appeals cost him more than $4 million. He was accused of taking bribes to direct state grants to a consulting client’s businesses.

Schneiderman’s office says the request is under review.

In mid-May, after about five hours of deliberations, a federal court jury acquitted Bruno on two counts of honest services mail fraud.

Bruno was indicted in January 2009 and convicted that December on those charges and acquitted of five others. The convictions were dropped in January 2010 when the law changed with a U.S. Supreme Court in a separate case.

The retrial began May 5 with jury selection, and opening arguments were delivered that afternoon. After seven days of testimony, closing arguments were delivered Thursday and the jury began deliberations.

Bruno, 85, was accused of taking bribes from Jared Abbruzzese in exchange for pushing state money toward Abbruzzese’s business interests. Abbruzzese hired Bruno as a consultant and paid him $20,000 monthly, but prosecutors said he did no work. Abbruzzese also bought what prosecutors called a “worthless” racehorse from Bruno for $80,000.

Shortly after the verdict, Bruno said he would seek reimbursement from state taxpayers for the more than $4 million in legal fees he incurred over the years to defend himself against federal corruption charges.

“I want what is legally due me — legally due me, and I don’t want to fight about it,” he said in an interview on Talk1300 radio in Albany, citing state law providing for reimbursement.

“I want what is legally (and) lawfully due me and I hope Eric Schneiderman — he is the attorney general — that he is just fair and objective and not in any way political, and I don’t expect that of him,” Bruno said. “I expect that he knows what the law is.”

Under state law, Bruno has the right to seek reimbursement, since a federal jury acquitted him. The law providing reimbursement of legal fees is intended to protect public officials innocently caught up in legal proceedings.

The reimbursement process is laid out under state law: The first step in the process is attorney general review, and then the bills are submitted to the state Comptroller’s Office for review as well.